Sure, the Apple iPhone 5 may have a gazillion apps, the Samsung Galaxy S 4may have countless cool features, and the HTC One may be built out of a block of aluminum, but one dip into the pool, one slip into the kitchen sink, or one drop into the toilet (gross) and they're history. So for some people, Sony's latest smartphone for T-Mobile, the $99.99 Xperia Z, has the ultimate killer feature: water resistance. It also happens to be an all-around great phone, with a large, gorgeous display, fast performance, and a good camera… that you can use to record video underwater. It isn't quite as powerful as the HTC One or the Galaxy S 4, but if you've been known to keep a bag of rice around to revive waterlogged devices, the Sony Xperia Z may be just the phone for you.

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DesignNext to the HTC One, the Xperia Z is one of the sleekest Android phones we've ever seen. Framed out by a polyamide skeleton, the Xperia Z is covered in scratch-resistant, tempered glass on all sides and protected by a shatterproof film. I wouldn't suggest dropping this phone on the ground and expecting it to be no worse for the wear, but it has a very solid feel in the hand. It measures 5.47 by 2.79 by 0.31 inches (HWD) and weighs 5.15 ounces, which makes it just slightly larger than the Galaxy S 4, but it also feels a lot more premium. And while this isn't a good phone if you've got small hands, it is a nice, manageable size considering the large 5-inch screen.

In addition to the striking, primarily glass design, the Xperia Z meets military specifications IP55 and IP57. That means the phone is dust resistant and submersible in up to three feet of water for up to 30 minutes. For this to work, you need to make sure that all of the external ports are properly sealed, but the phone is programmed by default to let you know when they aren't (you can turn these popup notifications off if you wish to live dangerously). We tested the Xperia Z's water resistance by submerging it in a pitcher filled with water for 30 minutes at a time, and never once did it falter. In fact, you can even turn on the video camera and film underwater, which I'll discuss in more detail later.

First let's talk about the display. The Xperia Z's 5-inch, 1080p screen is powered by Sony's Mobile Bravia 2 engine, and it looks fantastic. Every inch of the display is comprised of 443 pixels, which makes text, images, and video all look remarkably sharp. Compared with the Galaxy S 4, the Xperia Z looks more crisp, while colors on the GS 4 are more saturated. Which display looks better is really a matter of preference, but my vote is for the Xperia. Still, the HTC One bests them both, though it's a little smaller, at 4.7 inches.

The Xperia Z has a notification light in the upper right corner, a la BlackBerry. A flashing blue light, for instance, means you have a new message or a missed call. This is a useful feature I'm surprised hasn't made its way to more phones yet.

Your two physical controls can be found on the right side of the phone. There's Sony's trademark aluminum Power button in the middle, and a volume rocker right below. There's also a tiny cutout for the phone's speaker at the bottom, which I found a little too easy to inadvertently cover with my hand. There's a covered 3.5mm headphone jack on the top right edge, covered microSD and power ports on the left, and a covered SIM card port on the right. It took me a minute to find the power port the first time around because it blends into the phone's design so seamlessly. I reviewed the all-black model, but T-Mobile is also offering it up in a rather striking shade of purple.

The phone's sleek unibody design means the 2,330mAh battery is sealed inside. Sony includes a suite of power management software, which this phone definitely needs. Without any power-saving tools turned on, the Xperia Z lasted for 7 hours and 47 minutes of talk time, which is okay, but a few hours short of the Galaxy S 4.

Network and Call QualityThe Xperia Z supports both HSPA+ 42 and LTE on T-Mobile's network. If you pay the $579.99 to buy the phone outright, you can also use it on low-cost carriers like Simple Mobile, which also uses T-Mobile's network. It also supports 802.11 a/b/g/n Wi-Fi on the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, as well as Wi-Fi calling.

T-Mobile is in the midst of expanding its LTE coverage and plans to cover 200 million by the end of the year. We've seen LTE signals pop up in New York City from time to time, but it wasn't available when I tested the Xperia Z, so my tests were conducted over HSPA+ 42. The thing is, even T-Mobile's HSPA+ 42 network is still very good. I saw average speeds of 12Mbps down and 2Mbps up, which is an excellent fallback if you aren't covered by LTE.

Reception was average, and unfortunately, call quality is lacking. Voices sound harsh in the earpiece, with lots of fuzz in the background, and the phone itself vibrates at top volume. Calls made with it can be somewhat hard to hear as noise reduction is poor. The speakerphone sounds okay, but it isn't loud enough to hear outdoors. The phone had no trouble pairing with a Jawbone Era Bluetooth headset and standard Android voice dialing worked fine.

T-Mobile's new contract-free plans start at $50 per month, and that gets you all the talk and texts you want, along with 500MB of high-speed data per month, after which your speeds are slowed to 2G. $60 gets you 2GB of high-speed data, and $70 gets you unlimited high-speed data. These are excellent rates compared with competitors like AT&T and Verizon.

Android and AppsThe Xperia Z is powered by a 1.5GHz quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro APQ8064 processor. On the one hand, that makes it one of the fastest smartphones you can get. But on the other, that processor is a whole generation behind the Qualcomm Snapdragon 600 chip in the HTC One or the Galaxy S 4. Don't get me wrong—the Xperia Z will remain a solid performer for some time to come, but this isn't cutting-edge technology. The Xperia Z performed admirably in our benchmark tests, but cannot match the scores set by those faster devices. Still, performance feels smooth across the board, and you won't have trouble running any of the 800,000+ apps in the Google Play store, including graphically intensive games.

Alex Colon is the managing editor of PCMag's consumer electronics team. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Writing and Literature from Pace University and got his start editing books before deciding technology would probably...

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